In Six Month's Time
by an asian to the knee
Summary: The usual exploration of the six month period before Sakura, Syaoran, and Mokona caught up to Kurogane and Fai in the Shura Arc. Some allusions to information we get later in the plot, so it's not spoiler free.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi there! I think this is my fifth ever FF ... so any advice would be very helpful! **

**Ok so obviously there are a lot of FF about Fai and Kurogane in the six month period in the Shura Arc but I really wanted to write one myself ... and here's the result. And also I ship Fai and Kurogane like nothing else so there's that too.**

**In any case, I hope you enjoy ~**

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Fai wasn't completely sure how he had ended up where he was. All he knew was that he had seen the heavens split apart from Souseki Temple, felt himself being dragged towards some location in the familiar pull he now associated with Mokona taking them to a new world (even though Syaoran, Sakura, nor Mokona were anywhere to be seen), spiraling through the flurry of colors and sensations, and landing heavily onto packed dirt.

He gasped as he felt the wind being knocked out of him as he hit the ground. He hissed a little and rubbed his head. The dull throbbing was rather excruciating-exactly how hard had Fai hit the ground?-but eventually, he gingerly sat up, his eyes still half shut in pain.

And promptly felt the tip of a blade press into his slender neck. The pounding in his head was forgotten as his eyes flew open in shock, and he looked up to see a military man pressing a spear into his throat. The man's hair was pulled back tight in a bushy ponytail, and was outfitted with dark, thin cloth reinforced with sparse armor. He had what looked to be a leather chest plate, arm bands, and thin, rectangular plates flaring from his waist to protect his legs. To Fai, it looked like half of a ridiculous skirt-and he would've laughed if not for the severe look on the man's face and the pointy thing in his neck. He cast his eyes around for Kurogane, praying that the unruly ninja, at least, had made it to this new world with him. Usually, Fai was amused by Kurogane's violent nature. At the moment, he would've considered it extremely helpful.

Fai was seized by his armpits into a standing position, and his arms were lashed together with rough rope. There was very little sympathy from the men who were tying him up. He gritted his teeth and focused through the pain to look for Kurogane. It seemed they had landed just outside some sort of compound, just inside a ring of watchtowers, and a group of soldiers had already captured Fai. As far as he could tell, there were only soldiers around here and no ninjas in sight. Fai felt his heart pounding loudly in his chest. If he was alone here-if he had no one with him...

With a burst and a clash of metal against metal, Kurogane erupted from an encirclement of soldiers, brandishing Sohi and shouting something unintelligible. With a start, Fai realized that he could not understand what Kurogane was saying. He strained his ears, but all he could hear was the harsh, monosyllabic language he had heard only snippets of once before in Hanshin Republic. No Mokona then, clearly.

Still, even without being able to communicate with each other, Fai was stil able to call to him, and Kurogane spotted Fai, captured by their assailants. Kurogane charged forward, shouting something at Fai-probably something about being an idiot or a bother or something similar-knocking soldiers aside like they were flies and sailing over their hands in a flurry of twists and expert swordsmanship. While Fai never liked that he noticed, he found Kurogane's fighting ability nothing short of beautiful. There was a distinct agility, preciseness, and deadly purpose behind every subtle movement that Fai's eyes could hardly ever keep up with. It was fearsome and terrifying, and Fai had had never seen anything quite so elegant while being so efficiently dangerous at the same time. And Fai hated that he saw the killing machine part of Kurogane and admired it. He shouldn't be admiring something like that. He didn't want to.

Kurogane was only a few paces away from Fai now. The soldiers were slow to react, panicked and intimidated by Kurogane's seemingly demonic aura about him. Fai felt his heart leap in hope-perhaps they could get out of this alive after all!-but in the next moment, some soldier from behind him snorted impatiently and drew a sword. He stepped just in front of Fai, still bound, and indicated for the men at either side of him to push Fai down. He collapsed to his knees as the men put their weight on his slender shoulders, and the soldier in front shouted something to Kurogane. The ninja turned his attention from the man he had just knocked back with a sharp kick just in time to see the soldier raise his own sword and Fai on the ground, completely at their mercy.

The sword arced down towards Fai's neck, the metal shining eerily under the silver moonlight. Fai felt a flare of panic. He couldn't die here! But as soon as Kurogane had seen the soldier's sword rise, he threw Sohi to the ground, and as it hit the dirt, the soldier's blade stopped just at the nape of Fai's neck. He could feel the fine edge of the blade there, hanging menacingly and pressing almost imperceptibly into his skin. It was a close call. Fai caught Kurogane's eye and smiled faintly in apology. Kurogane's expression was unreadable, but Fai knew he was much less than satisfied that he had to give up the fight.

The soldier, who still had a sword on Fai's neck, barked an order, and the few soldiers that hadn't been completely bruised and battered (but those who had were still alive and more or less well) mobilized, seizing Kurogane's arms and legs and shoulders and forcing him to the ground into the same position as Fai. He felt a flare of indignation. Kurogane was giving no resistance, no anger, and no demands, instead quietly accepting their unnecessarily rough treatment and presumably disrespectful mutters. Their manner was completely uncalled for.

Fai was now allowed to stand again, and when he had been bound to their satisfaction, Kurogane was also dragged up by his shoulders. One of the soldiers picked up Sohi and whistled, impressed. He waved for the scabbard still on Kurogane's hip, and one of the ones holding him obliged to take it off and throw it to the one holding the sword. He swung it around playfully, making mocking swishing noises as the dangerous weapon whistled through the air, treating it like some sort of toy or stage prop. He was lucky he wasn't cutting off his own finger with the way he was handling the blade. Fai spotted Kurogane's eyes narrow imperceptibly, and his shoulders tense, but he didn't say a word. Fai felt a stab of guilt as the sword was snapped carelessly into its scabbard and hung at the soldier's side. He should've been quicker to react to his surroundings. No doubt, as soon as they had landed, Kurogane had awoken and immediately taken a stance at the soldiers surrounding him. No cradling his head and whining, no wondering where they might've gone to, just observation and reaction.

At an impatient push and a string of unintelligible words from one of the men at his back, Fai began to wordlessly move forward. Kurogane's group joined his, and the two of them, now prisoners, walked side by side through what looked like a military compound. The buildings were made of wood and constructed with a particular preciseness, perfectly rectangular and very straight. Men cast their gazes out of the doors of the buildings, and a few of them sitting on the stairs of some of these buildings laughed and whooped at Kurogane and Fai as they passed. A few of them threw food and trash bits. Kurogane took it rather graciously, which surprised Fai, who would've expected him to at least growl at the men at either side of them. It was actually Fai who was most bothered, spoiled fruit sticking in his fine blond hair and splattering all over his clothes. He glared reproachfully at the men who threw them as he passed. They made whistling noises at him, in response.

It occurred to Fai with a jolt that none of the men here looked anything like him. In fact, they all looked like variations of the same man, with stocky build and brown or black hair and toned skin. They came in various types of armor and held different types of weapons, but Fai stuck out like a sore thumb here. At least Kurogane had the same hair and skin color. Fai must've looked like an alien to them, and he was suddenly hyper aware of the looks he was getting, the openly curious gazes at his hair and fair skin and slender frame. He glanced at Kurogane so he wouldn't have to, at least, look at the jeering looks of everyone else in the encampment, and it was clear he had noticed something similar. His expression was growing darker by the minute every pace they made. But when Kurogane felt Fai's gaze on him and caught his eye, Fai only smiled softly and turned away.

At last, they approached a distinctively built building, it's roof a dome instead of a triangle, and its walls curved instead of angular. There were no windows and only one entrance, and it was guarded by two men. They snapped to attention as the group approached, and the one that had held the sword on Fai's neck stepped forward to say something to the guards. Apparently, this man was in charge in these parts, although he didn't seem to be particularly embellished with medals or markers with particular rankings or otherwise gave off much of a powerful aura. Perhaps he was simply a low ranking commander.

Fai and Kurogane were pushed unceremoniously into the building, which was unlit and completely open. There were no rooms in this place and it smelled of sweat and salt and the distinct, metallic stench of blood. There was straw pushed towards the sides of the building. Fai tried not to linger on what it might've been used for. There were also multiple wooden posts positioned throughout the place along with a chain of shackles for each, although for the moment, they were all empty. Fai thought to himself with amusement, _We get first picking_s before they were brought to their knees again and shackled to two posts, one next to the other. Well, at least Fai would be able to stay close to Kurogane. In this worst possible situation, he didn't want to be separated any more than they had to be. He had been worried they might've been put in separate cells or otherwise unable to see each other or know how the other one was doing. With a few mutterings to the two of them, even though Fai had no idea what they were saying, the men exited the building and shut the door behind them, throwing the pair of travelers into darkness.

Immediately, Kurogane said something to (he assumed) Fai. It sounded angry and frustrated and impatient. Then he paused, as if waiting for Fai to respond, and when he realized that too late, Kurogane launched into another rant.

At the next break of silence, Fai reflexively smiled cheerily, even though Kurogane couldn't see him, and said, "Kuro-tan, I can't understand a word you're saying."

There was a pause, and Kurogane said something again.

"I don't understand you," Fai repeated, still smiling. "Sorry for getting us into this mess."

Another pause. Then Kurogane said slowly, "Syaoran? Sakura? Mokona?"

"Mokona's definitely not close by, at least," Fai shrugged, dropping his grin. "And I didn't see Syaoran-kun or Sakura-chan out there." The metal rattled at his wrists as he moved his arms. In response, Kurogane ferociously shook his own shackles. Then he muttered something.  
"No use, huh?" Fai smiled. "Well, it's okay. They won't leave us in here forever."

Kurogane said something with a short sigh. Then Fai heard the shackles rustle against the dirt floor and Kurogane shifting into a different position. Fai assumed that he was making himself more comfortable, and he followed suit. He gingerly unbent his legs, which had now gone numb from his kneeling position, and stretched them out in front of him. He leaned back against the wooden pole and flicked his sticky hair out of his face. Then he started humming to himself, and then whistling. Kurogane grumbled but didn't shout at him, instead moving around a bit more and sighing with irritation. This was going to be a painfully long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Longer chapter but I have finals next week so please be patient with me ... I'll probably not have time to really work on this much. I've hardly had time as it is ;; **

**Ok so yaaaaay lots of fluff sorry nothing much interesting yet guys ;; also how do you write fight scenes like**

**Also while Fai's past has been explained in the manga I added a few small details that were never really explored but touched upon. For example, I'm assuming that Fai wasn't completely dependent on magic and actually learned a few weapons while in Celes during his youth. I'm also assuming that he's seen some pretty crazy stuff considering he's apparently hundreds of years old? **

**In any case, I hope you enjoy ~**

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By the time the door was reopened and daylight streamed in, Fai's wrists were chafed from the metal and his stomach was aching from hunger. He was blinded by the sudden sunlight, and he shut his eyes instinctively to protect them. Slowly, he peeled them open, although for the most part he was still squinting as a pair of men entered.

One of them was the one that had threatened Fai the night before. His arms were crossed and was dressed in black cloth and the same light armor Fai had observed on a few other men yesterday. At his hip was the same sword that had nearly cut off Fai's head.

The other one Fai had not seen last night, although admittedly he had not bothered to memorize all of the faces he had passed. All he knew was that he recognized very few of them, perhaps a few familiar faces from people that he had seen in passing in other dimensions, but on the whole there were no people he had really met before.

This man looked like he was more in charge than executioner man, at least. He had that stern look on his face, that atmosphere that indicated he was used to being listened to and people did so. On his back was a long staff, and on his side was a thin sword very unlike Sohi or the sword executioner man had, which were substantially wider. His hair, tied back, seemed to go past his shoulders. It was clear he was higher in ranking than the other soldier. He stepped forward and considered Fai and Kurogane.

This man said something in his strange language, and Fai panicked. If they were unable to communicate, they would have no control over what would happen to them, and that would be that. He quickly considered his options, tried to figure out the likelihood of getting out of here alive. It was an entire compound of soldiers, but if he and Kurogane were able to swipe the weapons off of these soldiers-Kurogane could make quick work of anyone with a sword, and Fai could probably make use of that staff-then they might stand a chance...if a very low, slim, depressing chance.

Of course, another option was for Fai to use magic, but he cast out the thought as soon as it passed through his mind.

Then Kurogane opened his mouth and said something to the officer, and he turned and listened. Fai felt his eyebrows rise as the officer replied shortly but with clear intentions. Were they...having a conversation?

Fai felt a flutter of worry that Kurogane was now the only one that could apparently barter for both of their lives, but he tried to reassure himself. Kurogane would not sacrifice Fai. He would not put Fai in a dangerous position. He wouldn't do that. They were companions. But Fai could feel his throat getting dry as Kurogane and the officer went back and forth. At least Kurogane wasn't losing his temper. That was something. Fai reminded himself that Kurogane was, after all, a ninja and effectively a soldier as well. He knew how these things worked. But he still felt uncomfortable that he was not able to control what happened to him, and his life was now completely in someone else's hands.

With a grunt, the in-charge man indicated to executioner man to release Kurogane. His shackles were undone, and he stood and rubbed his wrists. Then he patiently presented them as executioner man bound them again with rope. Kurogane's skin was tempered and tough, no doubt, because the shackles had not cut into him, but Fai cringed at the thought of rough rope biting into the cuts on his delicate skin.

With a curt command, the two soldiers turned and headed towards the door. Fai's eyes widened and he cried out a little, panicked. What about him? Kurogane seemed to have a similar thought, as he stood his ground and growled something to the two that were leaving. They paused and looked back. The higher ranking one nodded towards Kurogane and simultaneously placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, although not threateningly so. It seemed he was associating swords with Kurogane. Then he pointed to Fai and raised a hand in a helplessly bemused sort of way. The message was clear. _What can_ he _do?_

Kurogane blinked and turned to look at Fai carefully. It was true, Fai didn't carry weapons with him, and with his delicate frame, Fai supposed he didn't look like much of a fighter. He had very few bargaining chips. Then he realized that Kurogane might very well tell them about his magical abilities to get him out of here. Panicked, Fai looked imploringly at Kurogane and shook his head. If it was between using magic and staying in here for a bit longer, he'd gladly take the latter. Kurogane's expression was unreadable, although Fai was sure he had gotten the message. Kuro-sama was smart like that. Then he turned and said something to the men.

The pair of men glanced at each other, and the higher ranked one sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. Clearly he had had a long night, and debating about a pair of prisoners was not what he had expected his morning to be filled with. He waved executioner man forward, and Fai was also released from his shackles. He swallowed and felt his heart pounding. Did Kurogane tell them about his magical abilities? He sincerely hoped not. He winced a little as the rope rubbed unforgivingly against the wounds on his wrists before he was pushed forward to Kurogane's side. He glanced at the small stains of blood beginning to well between the rope and Fai's skin but didn't say anything, and Fai didn't complain. He couldn't afford to show more weakness than he had to.

"Hosokawa," he nodded towards the man Fai assumed was in command. Hosokawa blinked and turned to them, curious, and indicated towards Fai and asked something. Kurogane shook his head and shrugged. Fai blinked, confused.

With a sigh, Hosokawa reintroduced himself slowly and carefully, as if he were explaining to a child. He pointed to himself and said, "Hosokawa." Then the jabbed a finger in the other man's direction. "Hirota."

It occurred to Fai that Hosokawa thought him stupid. Fai's eyebrows furrowed imperceptibly before he mentally shrugged-it's not like he would've made much sense if he tried to talk, and it would've been more confusing for everyone anyway if he did-and beamed brilliantly. Kurogane said something to Hosokawa and Hirota before they led the pair of them out of the prison.

It was cool and bright outside. The sky was clear and a soft blue-gray. All around them was activity. Men were shuttling supplies, armor, and weapons in between buildings and along the dirt roads of the compound. Men were spilling cold water onto their heads to clean off. Men were wolfing down an early breakfast as they dressed themselves for the day. Men were striding about the place on the backs of lizard-horse things that were substantially taller than a regular horse, although they seemed to act more or less the same way. Fai primly skirted around some of the lizard-horse droppings left in the path as they made their way towards the outskirts of the compound.

Fai and Kurogane attracted more attention as they passed again-apparently prisoners were not much of a normal occurrence around here-and Kurogane indicated with his bound hands for Fai to stay close. Fai was happy to oblige, bounding forward and letting his arm brush slightly against Kurogane's, glad for the comfort of someone familiar beside him. Kurogane tapped Fai's shoulder and he looked up and smiled, guessing Kurogane was annoyed at something again, but instead Kurogane pointed with one of his hands at Fai's eyes. He blinked and felt his face (which was awkward with hands tied together) and looked instinctively at Kurogane's eyes. They were completely black-how had Fai not noticed before?-and Fai could only presume his were as well. Kurogane seemed slightly concerned by this, perhaps thinking that this dimension had done something to the pair of them, but Fai only smiled wider in an attempt to get him to relax, although he had to wonder if, since his eyes were no longer blue, he would still be able to do magic. He sincerely hoped Kurogane had not said magic was Fai's weapon.  
_I guess you really are Mr. Black, Kuro-pipi!_ thought Fai to himself, although he didn't say it aloud. He wished he could, but Kurogane wouldn't have been able to understand, anyway. He settled for beaming and bumping into Kurogane's side playfully. With a grunt, Kurogane pushed back for Fai to stand up straight and glared with a clear message: _this isn't the time to fool around_.

Privately, Fai was somewhat disappointed that Kurogane's eyes were no longer red. The red was pretty terrifying when Kurogane was fighting, but usually they were bright and aware and looked warm, like the sun, even though Kurogane was not one to radiate warmth. But Fai had never seen red eyes until he had met Kurogane, and he was simply fascinated by them. Now they were flat and boring, like regular old stones-but then again, Fai's eyes were probably black now, too. They must look strange next to his white skin.

The group of them ended up in the middle of a training ground. It was an ideal spot, the ground level and the land hard, packed, and without grass or stones. Set up were racks of weapons-bows, spears, staffs, and a multitude of swords that looked anywhere from a butcher's knife to something thin and fine like the thing on Hosokawa's hip-and men were everywhere, training to wake up that morning. Fai was impressed so many people were already up and training. As someone who preferred to sleep in every day, he marveled at those who were able to wake up and go straight to work. He glanced at Kurogane, who was observing his surroundings carefully. Fai supposed this must all be very familiar to the trained ninja-from what he knew of Kurogane's background, he knew that he trained with groups of other ninjas in his kingdom-but Fai's combat training had been a bit less...communal.

Kurogane and Fai were guided down the slope towards the flat, cleared area and presented with wooden, harmless weapons. Clearly, they weren't completely trusted yet, but at least they were apparently beyond being beheaded in the middle of the street. Kurogane snorted a little but chose a wooden sword that was approximately as long as Sohi. Then he stepped aside and stared at Fai expectantly.

Ah, he was supposed to choose a weapon. So Kurogane _hadn't_ said Fai could use magic, or else he'd be doing different spells right now instead of being shown a plethora of sticks. He smiled at Kurogane in a way that he hoped communicated thanks.

Fai stepped forward and considered all of his options. Really, the only time he'd used weapons were in the country of Koryo, when he used a staff against Kiishim-san. The bar darts in Oto were jokes, mostly. Not that he didn't know how to use a multitude of weapons, because he did, but he wasn't much of a physical fighter.

In any case, he settled for a long staff and tested its weight in his hands before swinging it experimentally around him, twirling it in pinwheels around his head, his shoulder, switching it in his hands...It had been a while since he'd held one of these. The rack of weapons was pushed aside, and as it was he eyed the line of archers just beyond it, taking aim and firing simultaneously as someone called out, Fai assumed, something along the lines of "go". He hadn't seen a bow and arrow on the rack. Well, he supposed that there were very limited ways to make a non-lethal but still functional bow and arrow.

Kurogane tapped Fai's shoulder to get his attention, and he turned and smiled cheerily at the ninja. He pointed to Hosokawa and Hirota, then his black eyes, and then indicated to himself and Fai. Then he lifted his weapon and made a few slashing movements. Hosokawa and Hirota, watching, us, fighting. Fai felt his expression freeze a little, but he stepped back a few paces to ready himself for a battle.

He had thought he'd be demonstrating his fighting ability, but he didn't think he'd have to fight against Kurogane. Against Kurogane, he'd actually have to try, because Kurogane knew Fai was much more skilled than he let on. It frightened him that Kurogane had so perceptibly detected Fai's abilities, and he'd have much rather done half his best against some regular soldier in the army than fight against someone who'd have no qualms about going all out. Kuro-pipi was aggravatingly competitive as well as driven-and it was their lives at stake, at this point. He'd be determined to give a good show.

With a satisfied grin, Kurogane took his sword and practiced a few swings with it to get its feel. Fai guessed it would be significantly lighter than Sohi, so he didn't think it was a very accurate representation of Kurogane's skill-but then again, they got plenty of demonstration last night. Fai's smile slid a bit wider now, somewhat more genuine. Perhaps that's why they wanted the pair of them to fight each other rather than against soldiers here. No one would want to fight against Kurogane.

Hosokawa shouted something short and quick, and Kurogane got into a ready position. Fai followed suit, sliding his feet apart slightly and bending his knees imperceptibly in order to be able to move quickly, although he didn't assume the same lunge position as Kurogane. Hosokawa said something, and Fai turned to see he was talking to him. Fai blinked in confusion when Kurogane replied for Fai, his tone insistent. Hosokawa nearly rolled his eyes but let Fai be and brought his hand down with another curt bark.

Immediately, Kurogane surged forward. Fai assumed this meant the fight had begun. He spun aside elegantly as Kurogane brought his wooden sword down. Even though it was quite blunt and light, Fai could hear it whistling as it rushed just past his face. Kurogane didn't miss a beat, taking the sword and swinging it to the side now. Fai considered blocking it, but there was no way he'd be able to do something like that against Kurogane's strength. He'd be knocked to the ground and the fight'd be over without proving anything about his ability. Instead, he bent his knees and jumped high-impossibly so for most men, but for Fai, it was simple and natural. He heard an exclamation of disbelief but knew it couldn't have been Kuro-sama, because he was already readying himself for another attack by the time Fai had landed behind him without hesitation. Again, Fai fluidly swerved out of the way. As Kurogane passed, he shot Fai a serious look. _Try harde_r. Fai glanced towards Hosokawa and Hirota and saw they looked severely underwhelmed.

Fai and Kurogane separated onto opposite sides of their small battleground now, circling each other carefully as Fai considered his options. He felt instinctively against showcasing how good a fighter he could be, even though Kurogane was fully aware of it. But he hadn't actually seen Fai _try_, actually fight off hordes of men and watched him take lives. Fai didn't want to show that side of himself to anyone, didn't want to expose it to anyone. He could stand going back to the prison. Kurogane would find another way to get him out of there.

Hosokawa said something to Kurogane. He sounded impatient and Kurogane shook his head and said something back. Fai blinked shook himself. Of course, his life wasn't the only one on the line here. If he didn't give a good performance, it would be on Kurogane, who convinced Hosokawa and Hirota to bring Fai out here. At this point, they would need as good a standing as they could get. And no one said Fai had to go _completely_ all out. Just...a bit more out. Right. That should be fine.

Fai leaped forward in the middle of Hosokawa's next sentence, raising his staff and spinning to get the momentum and force he needed to strike Kurogane at his side. As he expected, Kurogane blocked it easily, the two wooden weapons cracking deafeningly at the force of impact. Kurogane smiled, satisfied at last, and Fai returned his devilish grin with his small, pleasant smile.

Kurogane retaliated quickly, and Fai didn't have time to avoid it this time. He was forced to block, and his bones rattled as Kurogane's sword struck Fai's staff just inches from his face.

_That was mean, Kuro-sama_, Fai pouted minutely, which only seemed to make Kurogane's grin grow wider. Fai brought up the far end of his staff and pushed it against Kurogane's sword to force it towards the ground. Kurogane was already lifting up-Fai's weight was nothing to Kurogane, he knew-and Fai transferred his foot onto Kurogane's sword (this was where he was glad the sword was not actually metal) and used the footing and opening to swing the staff down towards Kurogane's head.

Evidently, Kurogane had not expected something like this. His eyes widened somewhat but he was able to push Fai off of his sword and dive out of the way. Fai's staff struck the ground with enough force to kick up dust and leave a small, distinct imprint of the hard dirt. He straightened and danced out of the way as Kurogane swung another hit towards him.

They went on like this, falling into a sort of rhythm as they traveled across their small battlefield. Fai could feel the sweat gathering at his forehead but disregarded it, his smile now determined and confident with every spin, arcing jump, and back flip he did. He took advantage of his staff's longer range quickly, sending swings and strikes from the other end of his weapon, leaving Kurogane on the defensive-but only for mere moments at a time. There were a few instances Kurogane loosened Fai's grip on the staff, and Fai would be back to dodging again as he centered himelf.

Fai thought that if they'd be able to capture their fight, though, it'd be very beautiful, with very nice lines and grace. They conflicted a little, what with Fai's almost random fluidity and with Kurogane's precise strikes and carefully orchestrated movements, but it was complementing, and it wasn't more of a fight anymore but more like a sort of dance. He laughed at himself a little when he thought that. He was dancing. With Kurogane! What would he say if he said that to him?

The fight was finally over when Fai brought up his staff a little too late, his arms getting heavy from the unfamiliar weight, and skidded back a few paces with Kurogane's attack. Hosokawa shouted something, and Kurogane let up his pressure on the staff and caught Fai's shoulder as he lurched forward suddenly. Kurogane wordlessly straightened Fai up before withdrawing his hand and stepping to stand at Fai's side as Hosokawa and Hirota approached them. Fai now defaulted back into his carefree demeanor, his back curved a little and a faint smile on his face. He held the staff loosely in his two hands at his thighs and leaned into Kurogane momentarily, humming.

Kurogane muttered something in reply but didn't seem too upset. As he was pushed back into place, Fai glanced at the sky to see the sun, wondering if it would be an accurate representation of the passage of time in this world. Assuming that it was, then they were nearly late morning. It must've been an almost hour long fight. Hosokawa better be impressed.

There was a small crowd, now that Fai looked, around them, standing in a loose circle that outlined Kurogane and Fai's mutually agreed bounds for their battlefield. They now watched Hosokawa advance towards Kurogane and Fai, apparently just as anxious to hear his verdict as the ninja and the magician were.

Hosokawa spoke directly to Kurogane, which irked Fai-but only a little, he tried to tell himself. For all they knew, he was stupid and mute. Hosokawa's expression was unreadable, but Kurogane didn't even try to hide the satisfied grin that spread across his face. Then he bowed a little, and Fai hastened to do the same. Hosokawa said something more, and Kurogane gripped the back of Fai's shirt and dragged him back up to standing straight.

Kurogane then asked something of Hosokawa, tugging at his own dirty clothes and pointing at the stuff in Fai's hair. Right, they had never had the chance to wash up since last night. Hosokawa inclined his head and relayed whatever information Kurogane had asked for and a few other technicalities, it seemed, because Kurogane crossed his arms and tapped on of his fingers impatiently, his smile gone. When Hosokawa finished, Kurogane brandished his wooden sword, and Fai heard the word "Sohi".

This time, Hosokawa shook his head, and Kurogane erupted and probably would've seized Hosokawa by the shirt front if Fai hadn't reached out and touched him ever so slightly on his arm. Kurogane didn't look at him, but the muscles underneath Fai's fingers relaxed somewhat and Kurogane backed off a little, although his nostrils were still flared. Hosokawa didn't seem very bothered at this show of aggression, although he did cast a glance at Fai.

Hosokawa took a calm tone and explained everything to Kurogane, but he didn't seem to be taking any of it in. His arms were crossed again and he was gripping his upper arms so tightly his knuckles were whitening. Eventually, when Kurogane did not deign to reply to whatever Hosokawa had said, Hosokawa simply shrugged and sighed a little before waving Kurogane and Fai forward. He turned and started heading up the slope. Fai stared at his back and turned to Kurogane, putting a hand on his elbow and pointing at Hosokawa curiously. Were they meant to follow? Fai was sure they were supposed to, but he didn't want to do anything without Kurogane around. With a short huff, Kurogane nodded curtly and started forward. Fai trailed after him.

Hosokawa led them back towards the compound after they had dropped their weapons back off at the rack. They were passing through the roads with soldiers again, and Fai wondered if they were being taken back to the jail, although Kurogane didn't seem worried. Then perhaps they were going to be given lodgings, become soldiers? It wasn't very ideal, but it was better than being in that jail...assuming they wouldn't die at the war front.

And, it occurred to Fai, this compound didn't seem mobilized for a full on army attack. Sure, there were watchtowers and walls and men were outfitted with armor at all times, but there was a leisure here that didn't strike Fai as a place that would be waiting for an enemy army's attack. What kind of war were they fighting, here?

They were led towards the outskirts of the compound, where the watchtowers and black tents were. Was everything here black? Kuro-rin was going to fit in excellently here. Kurogane glanced down when he heard Fai laugh, and he grinned and leaned against Kurogane for the next few paces before Kurogane pushed him off, again. He muttered something, probably telling Fai off for acting so casual in an army compound, but Fai didn't really much care. It wasn't like they were staying here long.

Hosokawa told Kurogane something, and he grunted a response. Then Hosokawa turned to one of the soldiers there and barked an order. As the soldier ran off somewhere, Hosokawa led them to an empty space among the tents there and pointed to it. And the soldier returned with surprising speed with a bundle in his arms, which Fai assumed was a tent. There was only one. Well, it wouldn't have been the first time the pair of them had shared a room before. Hosokawa said something else and Kurogane nodded before Hosokawa left them to their own devices.

The soldier handed Kurogane their tent packet, and Kurogane said something-hopefully a thank you-and undid the bindings on the pack to reveal a bundle of dark cloth with wooden sticks packed into it. Fai knelt down and picked up a couple of sticks, waving them around like a child. Kurogane snatched them out of his hands before sitting on the ground and getting to work, setting up the cloth in a particular fashion around the wooden parts and using a stone to hammer them into the dirt. Fai settled for dancing around and chasing after some of the flying creatures that drifted past him.

"Fai," Kurogane summoned him. It sounded strange hearing his name coming out of Kurogane's lips. He was so used to him calling him "magician" or "idiot" or something. Of course, Fai wouldn't have been able to understand any of those, so Kurogane defaulted. It shocked and excited Fai, who collapsed at Kurogane's side and grinned. Kurogane silently indicated towards the erected tent standing neatly among the others. Fai clapped appreciatively and went inside, anxious to get some rest before washing up and perhaps finding something to eat, but Kurogane grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him out. Then he dragged him up and dragged him away from the tent, Fai whining the entire way.

Kurogane took the pair of them to a river where all the soldiers cleaned themselves or else carried water to wash themselves later. It was relatively clear and rather wide, and there were large boulders lining its edge and stones scattered across the bottom. At the moment, no one was here. Fai assumed it was because everyone else had cleaned that day and were now doing their duties. Kurogane relinquished his grip on Fai's upper arm when they reached the bank of the river and promptly began stripping down.

"Ah-Kuro-rin..." Fai blinked and cast his gaze away, suddenly embarrassed, although he really shouldn't have been. He'd seen Kurogane change many times during their travels.

Kurogane grunted to show that he had heard as Fai heard a splash. He sneaked a glance and saw that Kurogane was now in the river, clearly relieved he had the chance to clean the grime off of himself that had accumulated from the past few days.

"Ah-no, nothing," Fai shook his head, and Kurogane rolled his eyes and shook his head as well, clearly indicating that he didn't understand what Fai was saying.

Almost shyly, Fai began undressing as well, taking off the clothes that had stuck to his skin from sweat and dirt from the country of Shara and sliding towards the river. He brought his clothes with him and began working at scrubbing out some of the stains. Kurogane said something to him and waded through the water to take Fai's clothes from his hands. He shook his head. Fai blinked, confused.

Kurogane groaned and pointed to the bundle of clothes and said a word. Fai assumed this meant clothes, and he repeated the strange language. Kurogane shook his head, dissatisfied, and repeated it slower. Fai obliged. When Kurogane nodded, Fai pointed to his clothes, said the word, then pointed to Kurogane's pile of clothes on the bank and repeated the word, again. Kurogane nodded once more.

Then Kurogane pantomimed cleaning the clothes in the water and said something which Fai took to mean washing or cleaning. Then he shook his head.

"No clothes clean?" Fai cocked his head to the side. Kurogane nodded and Fai raised his hands while putting on a bemused expression. _Why?_

It struck him that this was a very strange thing to do while they were both naked in a river, but Kurogane didn't seem to notice. Was this a usual occurrence for him? Kurogane scratched his head, mulling over how to say something, before shaking his head helplessly and settled for throwing Fai's clothes back to the bank. Then he waved at Fai's hair.

Ah, the stuff was still in it. That's right. Fai smiled his thanks and submerged himself to work out the food bits in his hair. Wow, this was really disgusting. He ran his fingers through his hair until they went through smoothly, and he couldn't spot any or brown or anything staining his blond hair anymore. He came up for air then and pushed his wet hair out of his face to see Kurogane on the bank of the river, dressing into new clothes someone must've left for them. So that's why Fai didn't have to clean anything. He splashed forward, creating a great ruckus, and pointed pleasantly, "Clothes!" in Kurogane's language.

Kurogane waved a hand impatiently and pointed to a pile for Fai. He seized them and dressed himself quickly in the black outfit and presented himself to Kurogane. _How do I look?_

Kurogane didn't play along, instead picking up both his and Fai's old clothes and indicating that the should go back to camp. Fai obediently followed after him. Meanwhile, he tried to learn a few more words from Kurogane. He obliged for that, at least. Fai pointed to his eyes first, curious, and Kurogane's eyes furrowed. He said a word and then pulled at the black clothes he was wearing as well. Fai blinked.

Oh, he meant "black", not "eyes". Fai tilted his head to the side. "Black? Kuroi?" He pointed to Kurogane. "Kuroi...gane?"  
Kurogane made a noise and apparently was trying to think of a way to explain. Then he sighed and said something about Sohi.

"Sohi?" Fai blinked. Where was Sohi, anyway? Kurogane angrily shook his head and muttered a string of unintelligible words save for Hosokawa.

"Where are we going?" Fai wondered aloud. As if Kurogane had understood him, he caught Fai's attention and patted his stomach, which appropriately growled in hunger. Fai laughed and placed his hands on his stomach too, and he nodded eagerly. Kurogane waved for Fai to follow, and he led them back to the compound and towards the mess hall.


End file.
